aruba- riu

I'm thinking of switching from the Marriott in Aruba to the Riu. Thoughts? I'm worried about some things I read on tripadvisor about the Marriott...not being able to find a spot on the beach/pool..having to go down at 7am to get a spot...plus, i'm thinking all inclusve might be good with us (to save money with breakfast/drinks/lunch).

Marriott is 2000 (hotel 7 nights/ flight)
Riu is 3500 (hotel 7 nights/ flight/ food/drinks)

Thoughts???

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Posted by Rosalind_75

dude!!! for our hm in cabo we stayed@ the riu sant fe. it was siiiiiccccckkk!!!! ive always have and always will be pro all inclusive. dh & i loveee to eat & drink.

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lol we do too...i heard not to do all inclusive because the food is soo good in Aruba...but I think it might be worth it just for drinks/breakfast/lunch/and some dinners..

ahhh How were the rooms at the Riu? The service?

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Posted by bubberflys

We did the riu in Jamaica!! It was GREAT!!! my only complaint was that even though there were lots of restaurants.. we had to upgrade our room to get into some and we had to maker reservations (still free through).. the non-restaurant dining was ehhh...

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Wait, you had to up upgrade to get into all the restaurants?? Never heard of that. SO what type of room doyou know to ge all the restaurants?

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Posted by jackieee

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Posted by bubberflys

We did the riu in Jamaica!! It was GREAT!!! my only complaint was that even though there were lots of restaurants.. we had to upgrade our room to get into some and we had to maker reservations (still free through).. the non-restaurant dining was ehhh...

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Wait, you had to up upgrade to get into all the restaurants?? Never heard of that. SO what type of room doyou know to ge all the restaurants?

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i never heard of that either. everyone who stayed at the resort had the option to make a reservation at one of the restaruants. ours had 5. we ate at 4 and they were allll great!! the buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner was soooooooooo yummy!!!!!! i have zero complaints about the food there. but i guess every country is different.

go to page 6 if you want to see pics of the room

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Posted by lori7570

A lot of the same things about the Marriot were also said about the Riu - regarding waking up early to get a hut. It;s going to be like that everywhere in the high rise district - but I def think the pros outweigh the cons about all inclusive.

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Good point about waking up early..Do you think All inclusive is worth 1500 more though? ahhh so torn!

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Posted by FutureCap

i stay at the marriott ocean club every year and love it... also there are just so many good retaurants and now that I have experiences them, I personally would not do an all inclusive there. but then again this has been our family routine for like 15 years!

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Could you tell me about how much you spend on food/drinks for a week? I'm trying to figure out how much we should bring with us for food/drinks and some activities...Just trying to see if the ai for $1500 more is worth it. Thanks!

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Posted by jackieee

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Posted by FutureCap

i stay at the marriott ocean club every year and love it... also there are just so many good retaurants and now that I have experiences them, I personally would not do an all inclusive there. but then again this has been our family routine for like 15 years!

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Could you tell me about how much you spend on food/drinks for a week? I'm trying to figure out how much we should bring with us for food/drinks and some activities...Just trying to see if the ai for $1500 more is worth it. Thanks!

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We go to pretty nice resturants, and don't usually drink wtih dinner, but we each had appetizer entree and sometimes dessert. Eachnight dinner was $100 for the 2 of us, one night $130. Lunch was usually $30 for 2 of us. I hate breakfast, but since its my parents timeshare, dan actually bought some frozen waffles, eggs, etc and ate in the room since we had a full kitchen. happy hour is from 3-5 everyday and their 3 or 4 drinks of the day are all 2 for 1.
Let me know if you need to know anything else!

I stayed at the RIU in Aruba and it was amazing! We went the 3rd week in September and always got a spot by the pool without a problem. I think it's worth the extra money because once you get there u don't need to worry about spending a dime! You can eat and drink as much as you want with no worries. The service was great and the room was amazing. Good luck with your choice

were staying there!!!!!!!!!!!

we are taking advantage of the all inclusive for breakfast & drinks by the pool.....I love the rooms there and really think we can benefit from the all inclusive aspect. we still plan on going on to the other restaurants to eat at night though! I heard only great things

we stayed at the riu for our hm last month and it was amaazzzzing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i say switch to the riu, u'll love it!